


Dreaming of Endless Summer

by rooftopkisses



Category: In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
Genre: Gen, It's summer!, Kid Fic, Nina's POV, lol idk how to tag this, mentions a lot of things from the musical, mostly just descriptions, reads like a children's novel, reads like a screenplay, the in the heights gang are kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:55:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24113890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rooftopkisses/pseuds/rooftopkisses
Summary: Summer's finally here!Follow Nina on her vacation as she helps her parents and hangs out with the other neighborhood kids!
Relationships: Benny & Nina Rosario, Benny & Usnavi (In the Heights), Nina Rosario & Usnavi, Nina Rosario& Everyone
Kudos: 9





	Dreaming of Endless Summer

**Author's Note:**

> i forgot i wrote this :o
> 
> i wrote this a couple years back for an assignment for a class. It's not the normal fic style as it reads like stage directions or a screenplay?  
> the first person is what the "children's book" would say, the longer paragraphs are like the illustrations the reader would see.
> 
> but i figured i would post this and clear it out of my files ya know?
> 
> this isn't exactly an active fandom lol so if you ARE reading this i really appreciate it and your kudos, and would LOVE a comment if you enjoyed :)

School’s out and summer’s finally here!

Nina, 10 years old, strides down the sidewalk with a grin so wide it takes up half of her face. The left strap of her book bag is slug over her shoulder, and the zipper is wide open. A couple papers, labeled with a big “A+” in red marker, blow in the wind behind her, but she keeps marching forward—with her eyes wide and focused on the bright, sunny, summer day.

There are so many things I love to do in the summer. 

Nina is taller than most girls her age, and her thick, black, curly hair is twice the size of her head. She is wearing blue jean overalls with a short sleeve tee underneath. Although her outfit is simple, she keeps her appearance neat and polished.

I can already taste the cold piragua we get from the park  
and the beans and rice I help my Mamá cook in the kitchen.

Nina stands next to the piragua cart that advertises “10 flavors! Only $1.25!”. She hands her money to the piragüero as he hands her a cold parcha flavor. She smiles, and quietly says “gracias”.   
Nina leans over and looks at the monstrous pot of beans and rice she is stirring, while her mom stands next to her, chopping an onion. Camila sneaks a glance at Nina, and a smile creeps upon her mom’s face, but she hides it well.

In summer… I visit with Benny and Usnavi. Usnavi always brings his radio and we listen to the best music.

Usnavi, lanky—just barely 64 pounds—struggles to carry his 25 pound boombox. It is resting on his back, as he lugs it along with both arms bent, reaching over his shoulders. Sweat is visible on his forehead and can be seen all around his red muscle tank. He looks up and sees Nina and Benny sitting on a wooden part bench. Nina sits on top, with her feet resting on the seat. She’s as close to sitting up straight as a kid can get, with her hands clasped together and her arms resting on her thighs helping to hold up her weight. Benny is to her right—barley sitting on the bench, so close to the edge he could easily fall off at any moment, but his face is relaxed, showing only signs of comfort. His right arm rests on the table, and his left hand is grappling onto the forearm of his right. His legs, disproportionately longer than the rest of his body, are stretched out as far as they can go. Nina and Benny are both smiling, with their heads turned towards Usnavi as they wait for him to reach their bench.   
Usnavi reaches the bench and sits on the opposite side as Nina and Benny. He sits in a more typical fashion, with his leg underneath the bench and his boombox resting on top. He swiftly greets Nina and Benny and immediately starts playing his music tapes.

In summer… I help my parents at their cab company. Sometimes my Papi lets me talk into the dispatch. I yell “Hello!!” and the trucks honk their horns back at me. I smile wide.

While Kevin stands at his dispatch booth and speaks into his radio, Nina sits on a stool next to him working. It may be summer, but Nina is always working and learning. Looking at her paper, with a pencil in one hand and her face resting in the other, she feels her father nudge her. She looks up, and her father whispers, with his hand covering the microphone, “Nina! Say ‘Hello!’”. Nina turns to face her father as he uncovers the mic, and, still holding her pencil, she leans into the dispatch radio and shouts “HELLO!” to the truck drivers.

On the hottest days, Benny and I play in the open fire hydrants. We splash around and the water helps cool us down!

A high-school-aged-neighborhood-kid is kneeling down by a fire hydrant while all of the younger neighborhood kids—Nina, Benny, Vanessa, and Usnavi included—stand around him watching patiently. He busts open the fire hydrant and water quickly begins to spray everywhere. The teenager runs off, as he knows he could get into trouble for what he’s just done, but before he can even get to the other side of the street he hears the kids cheering and screaming. He looks back, and the fire hydrant is surrounded with kids splashing each other, stomping around in puddles, and giggling nonstop.

But, most summer days, I climb onto the fire escape outside of my apartment. I love spending hours up here reading. This is where I do my best thinking. 

The Rosario’s apartment building is lined with fire escapes. It’s a tall, thick, New-York-brick-style building, with hundreds of Latinx families crowed into the affordable housing. Below the building lies businesses like the De La Vega bodega and Daniela’s salon.  
Nina sits on her fire escape with a stack of books next to her. Titles like _A Wrinkle in Time,_ _Spanish for Beginners,_ and _Esperanza Rising_ can be seen as she peers over the metal bars and looks down at her parents dispatch shop. Her mom is out sweeping the front porch, and she can just barley see her father’s outline through the window. Nina waves at her mother, smiles slightly, and returns to her reading.

On the Fourth of July, the entire neighborhood comes together to watch the fireworks. They light up the night sky so beautifully!

The whole neighborhood has gathered to watch the fireworks. Vanessa and Nina are seated on a family picnic blanket with their arms around one another. Camila and Kevin are to the right of Nina, and the three of them cluster together. To Kevin’s right, Benny sits several inches away. He sits on the same blanket as the Rosario’s, but he’s by himself, with his arms wrapped around his legs, pulling them towards his chest. Nina’s blanket overlaps with Usnavi’s, where he and his parents are sitting with his baby cousin Sonny. Everyone’s heads are tilted upwards and their eyes are fixated on the bright lights that clear past the city’s pollution and allow the stars to shine for just one night.

“Nina! Wake up! You don’t want to be late, it’s your first day back to school!”

Nina sits up straight in her bed, her curly hair uncombed and her eyes wide open in terror, as she realizes summer is not beginning—but rather it has come to an end.


End file.
